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Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) As Introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015

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Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) As Introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015 This document relates to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) as introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015 LAND REFORM (SCOTLAND) BILL —————————— DELEGATED POWERS MEMORANDUM INTRODUCTION 1. This memorandum has been prepared by the Scottish Government in accordance with Rule 9.4A of the Parliament’s Standing Orders, in relation to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. It describes the purpose of each of the subordinate legislation provisions in the Bill and outlines the reasons for seeking the proposed powers. This memorandum should be read in conjunction with the Explanatory Notes and Policy Memorandum for the Bill. OUTLINE OF BILL PROVISIONS 2. The purpose of the Bill is to: Ensure the development of an effective system of land governance and on-going commitment to land reform in Scotland; Address barriers to furthering sustainable development in relation to land and improve the transparency and accountability of land ownership; and Demonstrate commitment to effectively manage land and rights in land for the common good, through modernising and improving specific aspects of land ownership and rights over land. 3. To achieve these aims the Bill contains the following provisions: Part 1: Land Rights and responsibilities statement • Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement: to place a duty on Scottish Ministers to publish and periodically review a land rights and responsibilities statement that sets out the Scottish Minister’s objectives for land reform to guide policy development relating to land rights and responsibilities. Part 2: The Scottish Land Commission • Scottish Land Commission: to establish a Scottish Land Commission consisting of: five Land Commissioners who will carry out research and gather evidence relating to land, review the effectiveness and impact of laws and policies relating to land and make recommendations for changes to any law or policy relating to land in order to inform future land reform in Scotland; and a Tenant Farming Commissioner who will prepare, promote and advise upon codes of practice for the agricultural tenanted sector, consider SP Bill 76–DPM 1 Session 4 (2015) This document relates to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) as introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015 claims of breaches of those codes; and work with the Land Commissioners on areas of their work relating to agriculture and agricultural tenancies. Part 3: Information about control of land etc. • Right of access to information on persons in control of land– to take regulation making powers that allow for a requesting body to require the disclosure of certain information on a proprietor or tenant of land in Scotland, to be disclosed on a case by case basis, where the lack of the information can be shown to be having an adverse effect. • Information relating to proprietors of land etc. – to take regulation making powers to allow for provision of additional powers to the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland to request disclosure of certain types of information relating to proprietors and tenants of land, including information on individuals with a controlling interest in land. Part 4: Engaging communities in decisions relating to land • Guidance on engaging communities in decisions relating to land– to place a duty on Ministers to publish guidance directed at proprietors or tenants of land about engaging with communities on decisions relating to land that may affect those communities. Part 5: Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development • Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development: to provide Scottish Ministers with the power to consent to the transfer of land to a community body, or a nominated person, where the transfer is likely to deliver significant benefit, remove or prevent significant harm and further sustainable development, and where only the transfer of the land will resolve those issues. Part 6: Entry in valuation roll of shootings and deer forests • Application of non-domestic Rates to Shootings and Deer Forests: to remove the exemption from business rates for shootings and deer forests, in order to raise revenue for Local Authorities and to place shooting and deerstalking businesses on a level playing field with other rate paying businesses. Part 7: Common good land • Common Good: to further modernise the laws relating to common good assets by providing local authorities the same power to appropriate ‘inalienable common good land’ for other uses, as the local authority currently has to dispose of such land, removing the need for local authorities to secure passage by the Scottish Parliament of a Private Bill to authorise appropriation of such land. Part 8: Deer management • Functions of Deer panels, Deer management plans and Increase in penalty for failure to comply with control scheme: to provide for an additional use of existing deer panels to promote community involvement in local deer management; to provide a power 2 This document relates to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) as introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015 for Scottish National Heritage to require the production of a deer management plan where, in the view of SNH, the public interest in deer management is not being delivered in a particular area; and to substantially increase the level of fine for failing to comply with a deer control scheme imposed under section 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. Part 9: Access rights • Core paths plans: amendments to Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) 2003 Act to clarify and simplify the core path planning process and amend notification procedures for applications to the sheriff court to determine the existence and extent of access rights to allow for notification of all relevant parties interested in exercising access rights Part 10: Agricultural Holdings • Modern Limited Duration Tenancies – to provide a modern limited duration tenancy as an option for future agricultural tenancies to replace the existing limited duration tenancy option set out in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003. • Conversion of 1991 Act tenancies into modern limited duration tenancies – to take a regulation making power to allow Scottish Ministers to make provision for a 1991 Act tenant farmer to convert their 1991 Act tenancy into a 35 year modern limited duration tenancy and to then assign the converted tenancy on the open market. • Tenant’s Right to Buy – remove the requirement for a tenant to register their interest in purchasing their holding, with the Registers of Scotland, under the existing Right to Buy provisions in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003. 1991 Act tenancies will have the pre-emptive right to buy without the need to pre-register. • Sale to tenant or third party where landlord in breach of order or award – introduce new provision to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 to enable a tenant of a 1991 Act tenancy to apply to the Scottish Land Court to order the sale of the land comprising the holding, where the landlord is persistently failing to meet their obligations under the tenancy and where this is affecting the tenants ability to maintain the efficient agricultural productivity of the holding. • Rent review – make amendments to simplify and improve the process for triggering and carrying out a rent review for certain agricultural tenancies and change the way the Scottish Land Court is required, on application, to determine rent for those tenancies by moving away from consideration based predominantly on an ‘open market’ calculation to one based on a ‘fair rent’ taking into account the agricultural productivity of the holding based on the fixed equipment provided by the landlord, any surplus residential accommodation, and any diversified activity on the holding. • Assignation of and succession to agricultural tenancies - to widen the class of people to whom a tenant farmer can assign their tenancy and to whom they can leave their tenancy upon death; to simplify the ways in which a landlord can object to a potential assignee or successor to the tenancy. 3 This document relates to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 76) as introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015 • Amnesty for Tenant’s Improvements – new provisions to amend the current provisions for compensation at waygo for secure 1991 Act tenancies, providing a two year amnesty period during which a tenant farmer may serve formal notice on the landlord of their intention that, in certain circumstances, specific improvements, not previously agreed by the landlord, may be treated as capable of attracting compensation at waygo. • Improvements by Landlord – new provisions to require the landlord to serve a notice on the tenant setting out when the landlord intends to carry out certain improvements. There are also provisions which provide a right for tenants to object to certain improvements proposed by the landlord if the improvement is not necessary to enable the tenant to fulfil the responsibilities to farm the holding in accordance with the rules of good husbandry; and for certain sanctions to apply if such improvements are carried out by the landlord without serving such notice, or if the tenant objects to the notice and the improvement is not approved by the Land Court. RATIONALE FOR SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION 4. The Bill contains a number of delegated powers provisions which are explained in more detail below. The Government has had regard, when deciding where and how provisions should be set out in subordinate legislation rather than on the face of the Bill or the other Acts being amended by this Bill, to: the need to strike the right balance between the importance of the issue and providing flexibility for changing circumstances; the need to make proper use of valuable Parliamentary time; the need to anticipate the unexpected, which might otherwise frustrate the purpose of the provision in primary legislation approved by Parliament; and the need to allow detailed administrative arrangements to be kept up to date within the basic structures and principles set out in the primary legislation.
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